Visible minorities face subtle barriers to advancement

Visible minorities face subtle barriers to advancement

OTTAWA–Organizations use terms like “lack of fit” to exclude talented visible minorities from senior positions, according to participants in Conference Board focus groups. Immigrant visible minorities face particularly daunting barriers to achieving career success from lost opportunities because they speak with an accent to non-recognition of their work experience or credentials.

“Racism is not something readily discernible by the senses: you cannot see it, hear it, smell it, or touch it, but it does exist. It is subtle, invisible and ethereal,” said Senator Donald Oliver, the champion for the Conference Board’s program of research and education to help organizations maximize the talents of visible minorities. The briefing, The Voices of Visible Minorities: Speaking Out on Breaking Down Barriers, summarizes seven focus group discussions with successful immigrant and Canadian-born managers and professionals.

Immigrant participants said becoming proficient in Canada’s official languages and adapting to Canadian cultural norms are required ingredients for success. But many immigrants felt that even speaking with an accent gave employers an excuse to screen them out of job competitions.

Canada’s failure to fully recognize foreign credentials and work experience prevents many talented immigrants from working in their fields-even in professions where labour shortages already exist. These restrictions are particularly frustrating for newcomers classed as skilled immigrants. “If Canada needs cab drivers, then Canada should get cab drivers, not professionals,” said one participant.

“These are examples of systemic barriers,” said Prem Benimadhu, Vice-President, Organizational Performance at the Conference Board. “Organizations that allow barriers to remain will lose access to this growing talent pool. Immigration will provide all of Canada’s labour force growth by 2011, and three-quarters of immigrants are visible minorities.

“Employers can signal that they offer a welcoming environment to visible minorities by having strong representation of diverse people at all levels,” added Benimadhu. “Organizations also need to hold managers and leaders accountable for achieving diversity goals and objectives. Participants viewed supportive managers as critical to their success. Those who believed that employers and managers were fair were less likely to perceive other barriers to advancement.”

Focus group participants discussed the strategies they used to achieve success. They took charge of their careers by using networking and mentoring opportunities inside and outside their workplaces, fostering a “can-do” attitude and not turning down opportunities to demonstrate their skills. Immigrant participants made a conscious effort to take any job, while they continued to apply for work more in line with their credentials. Many also obtained credentials from Canadian educational institutions.

The Board’s comprehensive project includes an analysis of the economic contribution of visible minorities, a Leaders’ Summit on Visible Minorities held in May, and an employers’ guide, Business Critical: How to Maximize the Talents of Visible Minorities, that will be produced later this year.

Project supporters include several of Canada’s leading public and private sector organizations, as well as labour: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, BCE Inc., BMO Financial Group, Business Development Bank of Canada, CAW-Canada, Canada School of Public Service, Canadian Heritage, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Canadian International Development Agency, Citizenship & Immigration Canada, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Emera Inc., George Weston Limited, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada/Labour Program, IBM Canada Ltd., Industry Canada, Power Corporation of Canada, Public Service Commission of Canada, Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada, RBC Financial Group, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Scotiabank, Statistics Canada, Sun Life Financial, TD Bank Financial Group, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Unilever Inc. An advisory committee of leaders from these and other organizations is contributing to the project.

The report is available from the Conference Board’s e-Library at www.conferenceboard.ca/boardwise.

(PRESS RELEASE)